Hey there, we have a new (albeit not very inventive) feature: opposition reconnaissance. The very smart and very generous Beate, on Twitter as @badrulbudur, was so kind to answer a few questions ahead of our home match versus Fortuna Düsseldorf. Without further ado, here is Beate.

1. Beate, your Twitter bio says you are a F95-Hoolinette. What does that mean? And how did you become a Fortuna follower?

There are in total six „Hoolinetten“, all of which are fans of Fortuna Düsseldorf and, needless to say, female. One day, one of us came up with this nickname and we decided that this “title” is shared only among the six of us. Since then, we enjoy being a bit mysterious about what exactly that means… Yet: It is some sort of pun, like a female version of – only the word! – “hooligan”, but believe me: we are very nice and peaceful. Unless someone tries to annoy the #tpdus, a football related regulars’ table for Twitter people we are organizing in Düsseldorf. In that case, better be aware of a little axe and a baseball bat… just kidding.How did I end up with Fortuna? My father has been a supporter of Fortuna as long as I can remember. So I didn’t really have a choice, I am Düsseldorferin born and bred. Although, my passion for Fortuna can be very painful. What I like particularly about Fortuna is that they try to remain a little bit different – still trying to compete in the Bundesliga and of course trying to earn some money. (I am a traditionalist but not too naive.)

2. If a fairy had come to you last August and offered you 34 points after 27 match days, you would have checked their id. How does it feel to be outperforming all expectations, especially after everybody had Fortuna Düsseldorf as the number one sureshot candidate for relegation and the underwhelming start to the season (5 points after 10 games)?

I would certainly have had a good laugh at that Fairy. The team’s perfomance is unbelievable, but still: We’ve had our share of humiliating defeats this season. I have to say that I very much enjoy the current situation, from time to time looking at the table with a wide grin…

3. What is your expectation for the next season?

Next season will probably be even harder than this one. Fortuna’s performance will very much depend on how many players will stay. Actually, the team spirit is quite obviously very, very good. Some of the players even go on holidays together. On the pitch they fight for each other and seem to really respect their coach. It is vital for Fortuna that this this will stay part of their DNA – it is our key to success. The only one I am afraid.

4. What is your personal highlight of the season so far? [The home win against Hertha is NOT a valid answer ;-)]

After five back-to-back-losses earlier this season, there was another defeat – Fortuna lost 3:0 against their local rival, Mönchengladbach. After the match, the team went to the stands raising their fist up in the air, and Fortuna’s social media team posted a picture of this. It showed the team and everybody in the stands sharing that very gesture. At that moment, we were pretty much at the end of the table but the posting said that this team will never give up and will always carry on trying. The team believed in itself and, I’m sorry I have to say this, we actually did win the next match – against Hertha…

Needless to say, a 3-3 draw in Munich and the 2-1 win over Dortmund were pretty special – keeping in mind where we came from.

5. Where will the statue for Friedhelm Funkel be built and when will it be ready?

There is a statue of Toni Turek, the goalie of the 1954 World Cup champions, in front of the stadium. So, Friedhelm’s statue has to be erected somewhere else, maybe as some sort of collossus of a Rhodes-like statue with one leg on each shore of the river Rhine – as he works on the east bank (“rechtsrheinisch”), but lives on the west bank (linksrheinisch). That would be very suitable for a humble man like Friedhelm Funkel. I guess he would like it. 😛

6. Hertha comes off the worst performance of the season so far in Mordor [Markranstädt], Fortuna just beat the living tar out of Champions-League-candidate Ostholland [Gladbach]. What is your prediction for Saturday and where will you be watching the match?

Hard to predict. Surprisingly, Fortuna could move up to 10th – that would be amazing and better than any fairy could ever have promised. My boss and I have a nice saying on our office white board: If you start doing the math, you’ll lose for sure. Yet I hope that Fortuna will carry on with what they showed against Gladbach, the team is pretty self-confident. I would be surprised if Fortuna would lose – because of Fortuna’s past performances, not those of Hertha.

7. If there is anything else you want to tell us, go ahead.

Someone used to say: If you have Fortuna Düsseldorf in your life, you really understand what hardship means. Well, guess what, football can turn your life into a very sweet affair.

Thank you so much Beate, for your time and your great answers. And all the best for your team, unless we meet them again next season.

What do you think about our new category? Let us now on the comments or reach out on social media (@dmtfpodcast).

A snowy Saturday at the Olympiastadion (Credit: Esther Müller-Reichenwallner)

After just one rather shitty game, Simon and Jan have a little conversation about the home game against Wolfsburg and then drift off into urinals and other baloney. The end features a short interview with Graham of Roker Rapport fame.

Simon and Jan get into the first “real” podcast of the new year, discussing the away game in Nuremberg (awesome, Possum!) and home game against Gelsenkirchen (kinda cool). We also answer some questions from our beloved community and then ramble on as per usual… Little Easter Egg at the very end (Thank God for chapter marks…): We have our first testimonial. Check. It. Out!

If you like our little podcast project, any comments, reviews on iTunes, retweets would be greatly appreciated. You can find us on most social media under @dmtfpodcast. You can find our shownotes and other information at www.dmtfpodcast.com.

1. Lennart, you are a blogger and podcaster at rundumdenbrustring.de. Let me first congratulate you on acquiring Alex Esswein… Who makes these deals? First you pay half of Ibisevic’s wages for two years and now this. What is your reaction to reports that he now has to be bought by VfB due to making a certain amount of appearances?

We always like to help out those in need! In all seriousness: Ibisevic was our most important striker for a while but got sent off with a red card during the fifth game of an eight game losing streak in the woes of the relegation battle in 2013-14. He was suspended by the league for five games after which two things happened: he was used as a scapegoat by many fans because he had let the team down with his red card and also he never scored another goal for VfB. So the club decided to get rid of him and obviously took any offer. With Esswein, our former head of sport, Michael Reschke, was in a bit of a tight spot. He needed a winger to improve the offense after his summer transfers didn’t really pan out.

He probably thought, that Esswein would be a success, if he had 14 appearances. Well, he wasn’t exactly that. We can’t complain about the effort he puts into running and tackling, but as a striker, I expect more assists and goals from him. The problem was that our now sacked manager Markus Weinzierl put him in the starting formation anyway week after week.

After this season, having to pay 2 million euros for a guy like him, is just the icing on the cake.

2. I don’t really know how to start this, I feel so sorry for you guys. I follow you on Twitter and this season has been just one giant shit show. 6 wins, 6 ties and 19 losses, you are on your third coach now. Before the season started, there was talk of aiming for Europe and being done with relegation, but boy did that backfire. Can you explain what happened this season or even in the past few years to our listeners who don’t necessarily know too much about Stuttgart? Is there an explanation?

If there was an explanation, I’d be making a lot of money. 😉 This season is indeed pretty shitty, or to be precise: the worst season in our Bundesliga history. I don’t think anybody seriously aimed for Europe, but we were all hoping for a nice, relaxed season in the cozy no man’s land of the middle of the table. Basically where Hertha is at right now.

Our roster moves weren’t even that bad, albeit quite expensive. The short term problem is that our former manager Tayfun Korkut managed to lead the team to 7th place last season with a series of unlikely wins in spring, which culminated in us beating up Bayern Munich in their stadium 4-1. When this season started, it became obvious that Korkut was just a fireman, as we say in Germany, but he wasn’t able to develop the team and his playing style. Worst of all, Reschke obviously did not talk to him before signing new players, because he did not know what to do with them.

On top of that, our more experienced players, especially Gonzalo Castro, underperformed dramatically and our younger and new players were just not yet up for the task. This has not changed with the second manager of the season, the aforementioned Markus Weinzierl who also lost the team because he worked only with a small circle of players while others almost never got a chance to play.

In the long term, the last ten years were a constant slide downwards. We all long for a season without a manager change and a relegation battle.

3. What is your expectation for the next season? And what will it be, first or second tier? What has to change to stabilise your club?

I hope it will be the first tier, although it seems pretty certain that we have to win the relegation playoff for that to happen. First and foremost we need continuity – but with the right people in charge. Thomas Hitzlsperger, former German international, championship-winning-goal-scorer and Aston Villa player is now our head of sport and is trying to induce more stability in the club and is currently looking for a new manager for next season. We also signed Sven Mislintat, until February Head of Scouting at Arsenal FC, to be our sports director. I hope that together they will build a team and find a manager that we can hold on to for a while. I just want a season where I can lean back in April and May.

4. What is your personal highlight of the season so far? [If applicable…]

You are right, there aren’t many highlights. Mind you, this the season of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the club and the festivities at the beginning of the season were the only reason to celebrate so far.

Of course the 5-1 win over relegation battle contender Hanover 96 was pretty nice. Off the pitch it was probably the publication of the long overdue book on club’s history in the Third Reich. Mind you, this the season of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the club and the festivities at the beginning of the season were the only reason to celebrate so far.

5. Hertha comes off another bleak performance in the spring, after beating Bayern and Gladbach at the beginning of the season. What is your prediction for Saturday and where will you be watching the match?

I really don’t know what to make of our team. After we got massacred six nil by Augsburg two weeks ago and lost our manager, the team managed to pull itself together against Gladbach and won one nil. I get the impression that Hertha’s season is running out of steam, maybe we can profit from the fact that your team has nothing to gain or lose anymore. But I really can’t tell this season. I will be watching the match from the away end at the Olympiastadion. It is my first away game at Hertha, the only other time I went to the stadium was at the cup final in 2013, which we lost to Bayern Munich.

6. If there is anything else you want to tell us, go ahead. And good luck for the rest of the season. #dietrichraus

Thank you for the good luck wishes. I hope that the answer to „When shall we two meet again?“ is „Next season in the Bundesliga“. Nothing more to say. Oh and yes: #Dietrichout!

In this brand-new episode, we whiz through a ton of games in various detail and give you all the latest shebang about the best club in the entire galaxy. Coming soon to a country run by a white supremacist near you! Also there is a competition! Prizes to be won! Get in there!

If you like our little podcast project, any comments, reviews on iTunes, retweets would be greatly appreciated. You can find us on most social media under @dmtfpodcast. You can find our shownotes and other information at www.dmtfpodcast.com.

In our latest effort, we discuss the away game in Hannover and the home game against Frankfurt and all the stuff happening before and after these games. We give you an update on the injuries afflicting the team and we answer questions from our esteemed listeners. There seems to be more than one after all, who would have thought?!?

If you like our little podcast project, any comments, reviews on iTunes, retweets would be greatly appreciated. You can find us on most social media under @dmtfpodcast. You can find our shownotes and other information at www.dmtfpodcast.com.

Special Christmas candles held up by the Frankfurt supporters(Courtesy of Sabine Dollinger)

After yet another international break, we are back with the away game in Düsseldorf and the home game against Hoffenheim.

As usual, we digress a whole lot, uncovering fascinating facts like the state of the guest restrooms in Düsseldorf. Apologies to our listeners, we hope you still enjoy our little podcast. If you do, please leave a review on iTunes.

In our newest episode, we have a look at the away game in Dortmund (neat), the away game in the cup in Darmstadt (also neat), the home game against Raba in an unusually quiet Olympiastadion (not very neat) and we also have to talk about the reactions to the flares and violence in Dortmund (not at all neat), the club’s reaction (also not so neat) and the repercussions of the incident, the support boycott and the conflict between the fans and Hertha BSC (nothing neat whatsoever). We try to end on a few positives and will be back after the next home game against Hoffenheim.

Flagless stadium vs. Raba

Special shoutout to our listeners in the United States and to Ulf from Sweden.

If you like our podcast, make sure to subscribe, rate us on iTunes and follow us on social media @dmtfpodcast.

If you feel so inclined to see the scenes in Dortmund (viewer discretion is advised,) here is a YouTube video of the situation in Dortmund:

If you listen to our podcast regularly, why don’t you head over to iTunes and leave a rating and some nice words? You can follow us on @dmtfpodcast on Twitter, Instagram and sometimes facebook. Simon is on Twitter as @econet1892 and Jan is @janmuerei.

Here we are again with out latest Hertha podcast in English. Well Simónir tends to gabble a bit but that’s not a separate language. In this, our third episode of the 2018/19 season, we discuss the away game in Mainz and the home game against Freiburg and then get lost in other ramblings (again).

Chapter points are as follows –

00:00. – Hello
00:32. – Hertha away in Mainz
08:29. – The International break
14:03. – Hertha at home against SC Freiburg
40:49. – Outlook and further ramblings
50:38. – Its a wrap

We avoided the temptation to talk about American Literature mentioned in tweets before recording but Simónir reserves the right to digress into Norse mythology should we run out of ideas next time ;).

The walk to the stadium approaching from the east on the sunny afternoon before the Freiburg game

If you listen to our podcast regularly, why don’t you head over to iTunes and leave a rating and some nice words? You can follow us on @dmtfpodcast on Twitter, Instagram and sometimes facebook. Simon is on Twitter as @econet1892 and Jan is @janmuerei.

As usual we have added a inbuilt player to listen to this episode via this page if that helps you.

After a bit of a break Jan and Simonir return to wonder who this team is that appear to have emerged from the shadows. They’re wearing Blue and White although we’re not sure who they are. Having said this we”re warming to them!

If you listen to our podcast regularly, why don’t you head over to iTunes and leave a rating and some nice words? You can follow us on @dmtfpodcast on Twitter, Instagram and sometimes facebook. Simon is on Twitter as @econet1892 and Jan is @janmuerei.

As usual we have added a inbuilt player to listen to this episode via this page if that helps you.